Design rules for cancer nanomedicines

The use of nanotechnology has offered new hope for cancer detection, prevention and treatment. Nanoparticle formulations are advantageous over conventional chemotherapy because they can incorporate multiple diagnostic and therapeutic agents and are associated with significantly less adverse effects due to selective accumulation to tumor tissue. Despite their great promise, however, only a few nanoparticle formulations have been approved for clinical use in oncology. The failure of nano-scale drugs to enhance cancer therapy is in large part due to inefficient delivery. Indeed, physiological barriers posed by the tumor micro-environment inhibit homogeneous distribution of drugs to the interstitial space of tumors and compromise the efficacy of the treatment. To overcome this outstanding problem, a better understanding of how the physical properties (i.e., size, and surface charge) of nanoparticles affect their transport in tumors is required. Here we use a mathematical model to provide basic design guidelines for the optimal delivery of nanoparticle formulations.